


Little But Fierce

by Some_Impossible_Fairytale



Category: Beauty and the Beast (1991), Beauty and the Beast (2017), Disney - Fandom
Genre: Adam also needs to get his head out of the gutter, Adam and Belle play dirty, Adam is Belle's number one stan, F/M, I Don't Even Know, Lumiere has way too much fun
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-30
Updated: 2017-04-30
Packaged: 2018-10-26 00:23:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,635
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10775595
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Some_Impossible_Fairytale/pseuds/Some_Impossible_Fairytale
Summary: Adam is almost entirely certain that his beautiful, brilliant, benevolent fiancee saved his life only so that she can kill him herself.It would probably help if he wasn't shit scared of her. And it would certainly make planning her Birthday Ball a hell of a lot easier.But then he reasons, you just can't get the staff.





	Little But Fierce

The word that one would think most commonly ascribed to his fiancée, thought Adam as he attempted to sneak a large pile of books out of the Library, _her_ Library as it was now, was her own name. Belle had never been a more fitting nominative for a person beautiful inside and out.

Yet Adam – and probably Maurice as well as the rest of the castle’s inhabitants – anyone who knew Belle beyond simple appearance knew this was not the word that ought to be attached to her. Adam winced briefly at hearing the heavy door creak closed behind him. He had been sure that Cogsworth had begun seeing to all the doors just the other day. Rather, he mused, glancing left and right down the so far abandoned corridor, Belle was _fierce._ There was a blazingly passionate intensity in everything she did; burned through books, paper and charcoal as well as meals. He’d thought reading at table – something Mrs. Potts was now voicing her displeasure about – would help in slowing her down but only a little. Every time he chances a glance over his own book across the table at her, she’s moved ahead by several pages, empty plate pushed a little to one side, waiting for him to finish before the next course is brought. He’s starting to think he should encourage her to bring her schematics and diagrams to the table, regardless of what Mrs. Potts thinks, just so she doesn’t get indigestion. Not to mention the dresses. Madame de Guarderobe had been supervising the trunks of new clothes brought from Paris being brought into his room and had grabbed him by the wrist and insisted that he too speak to Mademoiselle about being more careful with her dresses because she’s ruined three silks and one satin in last week alone. Something about charcoal and mysterious stains from her studio.

While Adam had promised to gently remind Belle to use her handkerchief, or some form of cloth more assiduously in future he didn’t really want her too. There was something incredibly adorable about catching Belle in her element, the way she, once again fiercely devoted herself to her own interests. Yet she was never self interested. She had sacrificed her freedom for Maurice, just as she had saved him from being eaten by wolves and then come back to him, wrestled Gaston’s gun out of the man’s hands. Even in small matters, Belle continued to put others first. She was in constant contact with the village priest over her plans for literary classes as well as someone in Paris Cogsworth had put her in touch with for Ancient Greek lessons. No matter who disturbed her, Belle would lay aside her book, scribble a reminder on her plans and meet their eye with a welcoming smile.

No Adam preferred her tinkering, her hair up in a bun to keep it out of the way, charcoal on her cheek or smattering her skirts to preserve the precious pages of their books alongside bits of chemicals and compounds from her various devices. It should be less of an issue at present anyway, given the boxes of new books that they’d ordered to compensate for the loss of new additions to the Library suffered under the curse.

He also preferred her happy. He had possessed a horrific temperament as the Beast, one he could feel sometimes still coiling in his shoulder blades when irritated. Belle and the family she had helped reconstruct inside the castle walls was the best balm the world could offer. But that did not mean that his love, his soon to be wife did not on occasion stand toe to toe with him and give as good as she got.

It was mesmerising and terrifying all in one go. It was a step up from the heated bicker they’d had by the Beast’s bedside after the wolf attack. Though Adam thinks, she was trying to keep her temper in light of his wounded state and the audience of enchanted staff they’d had at the time. The last argument they’d had concerned his complete avoidance of anything to do with Versailles. The torrent of mail they had received once the curse was broken was enough to be getting along with without having to contend with a bunch of cousins, relatives and general busybodies who remembered Adam as the selfish libertine he had been. Case in point, they were all wondering when his next ball would be, or had he finally gotten round to making one of the young fillies (their words not his) the Princesse.

As Adam had informed Belle when she’d seen him scan through the letters Cogsworth had left on a little silver platter for him and throw all the ones from Versailles into the fire – including the ones from the King himself – it was none of their business.

“Wouldn’t it be better to simply thank them for their concern, express your wellbeing and say that you are enjoying the country air very much single?” Belle had countered, attempting diplomacy.

Adam had then proceeded to ask, in a tone of incredulity what in blazes Belle was talking about and that he did not want her to be subjected to the harpies at the Palace. He was trying very hard to control his temper, he hadn’t wanted to snap at Belle, was loathe to raise his voice – worried it would slip beyond the growl she was fond of into a full blown roar.

Belle had then reminded him quietly that he had never actually asked her to marry him at any point during the time they had known each other. 

He may have heavily assumed on that point. It was the natural progression of their relationship, they loved one another, would not go a day without professing that love, stole kisses in whatever form they could whenever they could. Of course they would get married.

Belle had said that whilst she’d certainly thought about it, she’d rather hoped he would have asked first.

The argument had ended when just as Belle had shouted “I THOUGHT YOU’D NEVER ASK” in response to Adam’s equally as loud “WELL WILL YOU MAKE ME THE LUCKIEST MAN ALIVE AND DO ME THE HONOUR OF MARRYING ME PLEASE?” Cogsworth of all people had entered the room and bellowed at the pair of them that if the Master and Mademoiselle loved each other and wanted to marry what precisely the problem was? And could they please let him do his job as majordomo and make the official announcement, rather than yelling it down the corridors for all to hear?

Hence the reason the Prince was currently avoiding the love of his life, scuttling down the corridor trying to keep the tower of books in his arms from toppling and giving him away. Belle was somewhere sorting out which books were to enter the Library and which were to form the basis of the classes Belle was organising for any willing student to attend.  

Adam on the other hand was engaged in a task of mixed motivations. The vast majority of the books _he_ had been retrieving from the library were not ones that he would wish someone as pure as Belle to ever lay eyes upon, regardless of what Lumiere says about her. And there is a part of Adam that _wants_. A part of him that wants very much to see Belle beneath him, saying only him name as he shows her everything, every way under the sun that he could bring her to the edge with his touch. That is the one good thing about his previous lifestyle, he knows exactly how to enthral her senses, to give her nothing but pleasure. It’s the same part of him that wonders, still greedy even after everything, if Belle’s eyes would light up at the descriptions and instructions that lay within these volumes, the way she devoured new information. A part of him that craves to be at the centre of her intensity in the truest sense of the word, to have her see and feel and think about nothing except for him. But this is Belle. She is not one of the painted beauties he enjoyed all those years ago, eagerly tasted and just as eagerly forgotten in favour of the next. This is his Belle, who holds his heart in her palm, who he will do right by or die trying once more. So he’s hiding these books in his rooms where she’s less likely to come across them until he can have them transferred to one of the attics. Or perhaps destroyed.

 The others are various plates from periodicals and some of Belle’s favourite books that he needs to borrow for his little plan.

Belle and Maurice have only been living in the castle for about a month and while plans have not even begun for their wedding, let alone the various balls Adam knows it will be his job to convince Belle they will have to hold on the best day of his life, there is another event to celebrate.

Belle’s birthday.

Since the Library was exclusively Belle’s domain (though her tinkering took place next door in one of the saloons) Maurice stayed within his suite mainly, only venturing forth very occasionally. He had been filching one of Belle’s tools when Adam had come upon him in own search for his now official fiancée. Though Maurice was in truth a very easy going gentleman who cared for little provided Belle was safe and happy, there was a soft bed and a good wine available, Adam still felt terrible for how he treated his future father-in-law.

Hovering by the door he had been about to make his apologies and leave when Maurice had waved him forward “Come in, Your Grace, come in. No need to be so shy.”

“I’m sorry to bother you monsieur I was looking for Belle” Adam replied softly, acquiescing to Maurice’s request but still maintaining a respectful distance.

“I, ah, intentionally chose a moment when she would be absent from her little lair – looking for you if Mrs. Potts is to be believed. There are a few things I need to borrow and I would prefer she not know their purpose until the appointed time” Maurice smiled at him and Adam marvelled again at the good natured generosity of this family.

“Adam, I can see I must speak plainly” Maurice smiled a little softer, dropping the honorific “I can see the remorse you feel over your past actions including the imprisonment of my daughter and myself. Belle told me you had changed when she came to save me from the asylum and I continue to see daily proof of it since she convinced me to return to the castle with her. You are not the Beast you once were. Belle has always seen the good in everyone as is her way, and I knew that the man she would marry – you as it turns out – would understand her intensity, her passion for life in a way that those who mock her never could. You prove yourself by the fact that you do not merely understand her, you celebrate her, encourage her, provide her with the means to amplify her gifts. You seek to be a better man not only for her but for yourself. I believe a wise man once said ‘to thine own self be true’ eh?”

It was the most Maurice had spoken in front of him, well, ever. Adam hadn’t been able to stop the smile that transformed his face handsomely in a way it had never quite managed in its previous form.

“Now” Maurice had clapped him on the back “Come and tell me what you think of this” then Maurice had lead the way to his own studio, where sketches and mechanical parts littered the workbenches. Cogs and pots of paint interspersed throughout the room.

Beside a little musical windmill was a large mechanical rose in a glass case. Beside it was what was evidently the base, fashioned to resemble an open book. It was  remarkably clever and very colourful and Adam knew immediately Belle would love it.

“Perfect for her birthday no?”

Adam had stopped dead at Maurice’s words. Despite the declarations of love, it appeared that he and Belle really did have to work on their communications. She had never actually found out his name until she had repeated her declaration of love to his now human and conscious self before asking what she was supposed to call him. They had never discussed birthdays. His was not for months and had gone uncelebrated for years under the Curse at his own orders as well as the fact that none of them actually aged. He had thought that Belle would tell him when her own came around. Maurice had hastily told him not to be upset and that Belle was not a birthday person either.

Still, Adam was determined to surprise her and spoil the future Princess as much as the Treasury would permit now that he had repealed all unnecessary taxation before it could take effect again. As a result, he was in cahoots with all the staff except Cogsworth (who could not keep a secret to save his life) to plan an intimate ball similar to the one held when the curse had lifted.

This one, in honour of the birthday girl, was to be a costume party. Guests were to dress as their favourite characters. LeFou, Stanley and the select other villagers who were learning literacy had jumped at the idea. Those of the court who were not greatly literate could pick from the plays or masques they had seen performed. It was for this reason he had borrowed books, particularly her favourites in order to see what they had in storage or could make up from other garments.

“What are you doing?”

Belle’s amused voice came from just behind him and Adam got such a nasty shock he upset the books and sent them sprawling over the marble floor. Damnation.

“Sweetheart” Adam greeted her warmly, turning quickly in an attempt to shield the books with his back. Sadly he often forgets that he is no longer ten feet high or as broad shouldered as the Beast once was and loses his balance, hitting one of the library tables with his hip.

Belle, who was sequestered just out of sight in one of the library’s more secretive alcoves, located so that the reader has a view of anyone entering the room, but anyone coming in the door cannot see them puts her book aside.

“Adam?”

“What are you reading?”

“Andreas Vesalius” she admits almost shyly. That’s another thing, Belle reads at an alarming rate but she is wholly unbashful with regards to topic, so why naming this author has brought a higher shade of pink to those cheeks of hers derails Adam instantly. Cocking his head at her, he leans gently forward until he can see the she’d been examining with such fervour before he entered.

 _Oh. **Oh.**_ Adam coughs, catching Belle’s eye and they both look away from each other for a moment. As it turns out, Andreas Vesalius, Belle informs him rapidly – she forgoes all shyness when describing the latest hold on her interests – was the first person to complete a study of human anatomy.

It seems as if Adam is not the only one struggling with carnal fascinations of late. And Belle, as Maurice had so elegantly put it, ‘as is her way’ had ventured into the Library to answer her questions. It makes an awful amount of sense now that Adam thinks about it. Despite the shared joy in academia held by father and daughter, he cannot imagine Maurice had been overly forthcoming in informing his daughter about the ‘birds and the bees’ as the villagers called it beyond the simple facts.

“I wanted to teach myself, better my nursing abilities” Belle smiles up at him with such complete sincerity that Adam realises that he truly is alone in the gutter with his thoughts about his future wife.

Chuckling in a way he prays to the Almighty hides this greater wave of embarrassment, Adam ducks his head and says he surely is walking proof as the superiority of her nursing capability. It is a sombering thought indeed that the only reason the Curse was able to be broken at all is because Belle returned with him to the Castle and tended his wounds. He shuddered to think of dying in that foreign body outside in the eternal winter, extinguishing the last hopes of the others.

“Well, my love. I will leave you to your studies.” He bends to kiss her, only just remembering that the whole point of venturing in here was to avoid Belle for a time, not get distracted and spend the rest of the day with her.  “I only came in here to retrieve some of the statute books from before…” he cannot bring himself to say before the Curse, before his Beastly nature had become extroverted for all to see, a man who even he had given Belle more than a second glance was the personification of everything the woman he loved abhorred. “From Before” It is its own time period, as any avid reader knows every story has a beginning, middle and end. That was the Before of their love story, markedly so, if not Volume One, so to speak. And now they are in the enjoying their Happily Ever After. Although Adam does not feel that way, to Adam in truth, this is his Happily Ever Beginning of his second chance.

Belle catches the storm brewing in his eyes, the way the light she felt had taken up a permanent residence these days has been shuttered out. And Belle refuses to have that. “From before we met, yes I see. Have you gotten all the ones you needed for the moment?”

Adam nods, glad that despite the purpose of his visit being a ruse, Belle continues that thought, revives it, to ground him and keep him in the present rather than the pain of the past. He bends to kiss her again, chaste and quick, shuffling the weight in his arms to a more comfortable position before he bids her adieu.

“Adam?” he turns back immediately. The one gift Belle receives readily, after years of being ignored by the villagers, is his attention and so Adam resolved that Villeneuve’s ‘Funny Girl’ will have it at every possible moment. Whenever he thinks of the nickname that terrible village gave her (and he hopes Agathe will excuse him in this) he can’t help but think of them in revulsion even if it _was_ the Curse making them act so. “Yes darling?”

“I love you”

His heart lifts at her words, something he has never tired of hearing (even if he was dead the first time) “As I love you. Even though I was close to becoming –“another word they do not speak, somewhat out of respect for LeFou and also because of the heinous act the man committed, actual treason in all honesty, is the name of the man who killed him.

“You could never have become like him. I think I understand why Agathe cast the spell on you in the first place. Why she never attempted to do something similar to him” Belle says, standing and coming to cup his cheek, looking up into his eyes to make sure she has his full attention “She knew you could be saved. You could change, _have_ changed. Maybe she knew he couldn’t, as sad as that is to admit.”

Adam nods again, stiffer this time, trying to digest her reasoning. It’s brilliantly simply and oddly comforting. It is always hard for Adam to think of the Curse in terms of something that was done for his own good, but put in terms like that, it is hard to see why else Agathe would have done it.

Belle truly is ahead of her time. He manoeuvres their position ever so slightly so that he is able to press a kiss to her palm, before (unable to resist temptation) he delivers another to her forehead.

Finally making the resolution that if he does not leave now he never will and the Costume Ball will not come to fruition, Adam takes his leave with a spring in his step.

“Wait just a second – those aren’t statute books! Adam! Adam!”

Belle’s voice echoes demandingly behind him and Adam isn’t ashamed to say that the spring in his step develops into a full blown run down the corridors and away from his fiancé. Being six foot tall does have its advantages. Normally when Belle is on the warpath, the staff suddenly become overwhelmed with their work and are nowhere in sight (traitors) but as he rounds a corner after a close call when he’d cut through the ballroom Lumiere comes into view.

One day he may kiss the man.

“Ah my Prince!”

“Escape Plan Beta” Adam shouts at his Maître D as he dashes past, hurling himself at the staircase and the sanctity of his study in the West Wing. His anger may not have left him, but neither has certain elements of his more animalistic nature and Adam uses it to his advantage when Belle is on his tail. Metaphorically speaking thank Heaven.

“Mon Dieu” he hears faintly from behind him before Lumiere’s acting abilities take over - “Ah, my Lady, I was hoping to catch you, I have received letters from some of the other villages regarding your classes –“

“That’s cheating!” Belle’s words echo off the marble, as Adam makes it through the doors to his chambers.

“That’s politics!”


End file.
